No Longer A Child
by Homer's Disciple
Summary: Five years into her reign Emily the wise is not a child anymore. Not really she's seen too much. But she's still a human and no matter what Corvo will always be there for her. Oneshot


**This is my first Dishonored fic.  
Wrote it on Mother's day but barely got around to posting it.  
****Recently got it as a gift and beat it nearly six times hehe**

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The beach was lovely.

Just outside of Dunwall and yet managing to remain mostly untouched from everything that had happened.

The rise of the plague, the assassination of Empress Jessamine Kaldwin, the rise of the Loyalists in the face of the Hiram Burrows, the Loyalist's betray of Corvo and finally Emily taking her rightful place as Empress.

That had been five years ago and Dunwall was doing better with people filling the streets again and the plague almost wiped out.

Emily the wise, as some had taken to calling her, had done more for the city under her reign than many thought possible and throughout it all the Empire had forgotten that she was still human and at least physically, still a child, but Corvo remembered.

Empress Jessamine Kaldwin had used this beach as a retreat from the pressures of court and the grueling demands of the empire.

Corvo had often joined Jessamine at this beach. At this beach sometimes he had been Empress Jessamine's Royal Protector but others times… he had been something else for her.

Now Corvo saw it as a gift for Emily.

Many at the Dunwall court had protested at the lack of proper guard but Corvo had assured them that he was protection enough.

Even still a ring of Guardsmen had followed them acting as honor guard when Emily's carriage had taken them outside the city.

Along the ride Corvo had marveled at the change from the industrial buildings and the smokey haze of Dunwall to the fresh air and almost untouched lands of the beach. It was something very few people appreciated.

Corvo stepped out of the carriage holding the door open with one hand while offering the other to the wise beyond her years Emily.

The Empress of the Isles took his hand as he carefully led her down the carriage steps.

Emily held his hand as he escorted her. The ring of Guardsmen attempted to follow but Corvo stopped them with a wave of his hand. He was more than enough protection.

"It's so beautiful here" Emily said standing nearly as tall as Corvo now. She hadn't been here for years but her mother and Corvo taken her here on occasion.

When Emily was a child, truly a child with a child's innocence and wonder, she had played here running along the shore with her mother.

Those were good days… days that were long gone.

Corvo watched over her as she strode up to shore and ran a hand along the sand letting it crumble into dust and scatter in the wind, just like so many things her life.

Emily smiled like a kid again as she slowly slipped off her sandals letting her raw feet feel the warmth of the beach.

The wind gently raced across her face. Corvo smiled too. He was glad to see her like this.

Emily turned to him and held out her hand still with that smile on her face that rose Corvo's spirits for the first time in months. Together they ran along the shore just as Emily had years before with her mother.

The day went by quicker than Corvo would have liked but it was worth it to see Emily as a child again playing at the beach without a care in the world.

"We have to go back now… don't we" Emily asked sadly as she turned to her Royal Protector though she held her composure as an Empress would just like Callista had showed her.

They were sitting on the beach having built a sand castle that crudely resembled the Dunwall Tower.

"Yes we have to go back" Corvo answered.

"I understand" Emily said calmly

Corvo got to his feet first and helped the young Empress to her feet. Even now he still thought of her as a child but seeing her understanding of the world and her graceful acceptance of it reminded him of how much she'd seen in her young life.

Reminded him of how much she looked like her mother.

_She will be a beautiful woman one day just as her mother was _Corvo thought.

He took her hand leading her back to the royal carriage. He was still holding her hand when Emile stopped in her tracks. Corvo tilted his head at her as Emily slowly slipped out of his grip.

"I haven't seen one of these in years" Emily said scoping down to pick up a beautiful white flower that apparently only grew on this beach. Flowers such as these were nowhere to be seen in the industrial Dunwall.

"Mother gave me one of these years ago. She put it in a vase and let me keep it in my room do you remember Corvo?" Emily said in a controlled voice with her back to him.

"I'm sure it was beautiful" Corvo said honestly having forgotten.

Emily turned back to him smiling sadly as she said "mother said she wanted to plant a garden in the Dunwall Tower one day. She told me the flower would be the start and that I could keep it and watch it grow."

Corvo's face fell as he saw Emily start to tremble.

"It was one of last gifts she gave me before… before she… before mother…" Emily said her eyes beginning to water.

Before Emily knew it Corvo was at her side and she was crying into his jacket. Corvo held her, in this moment he wasn't her Royal Protector he was something else.

_Emily was no longer a child. The innocence of her youth had been taken from her and she was now an Empress but she was still human._

"I miss her everyday" Emily sobbed in his arms.

"I know Emily. I miss her too" Corvo said holding her close and letting her be human if only for a day.

"It's not fair!" Emily sobbed her eyes red as she met Corvo's eyes.

"No it's not fair Emily and it never has been" Corvo said wiping the tears from her eyes.

"I wish things were different. You've been through too much for a child and too much for even an Empress" Corvo said as Emily panted.

"You are the people's hope. Your mother carried the burdens as you do now and she would be so proud of you" Corvo said soothingly.

"You think so" Emily said through red eyes and quiet breathes.

"I know so. You are everything that was best in her and I see a little more of her every day in you. Your mother will never leave you Emily" Corvo said softly.

"She's always in your heart" Corvo said warmly.

"It's just hard sometimes" Emily said calming down.

"I know it's hard and it's not fair but we make the most of what we have" Corvo and Emily said together echoing the words of her mother.

They both smiled at that.

"You look so much like her. It's okay to let it out when you need to Emily I'll always be here for you" Corvo said smiling warmly. Emily smiled back at him planting a kiss on his cheek.

To the rest of the world Emily Kaldwin was Emily the wise, the young Empress of the Isles, and the savior of Dunwall. But to Corvo she was a child wise beyond her years with more asked of her than any child should, and he would protect and guide her.

To Corvo she was his daughter.

He ruffled her hair and kissed her forehead before slowly helping her up. Emily took his hand once again as he escorted back.

The ring of Guard stayed silent having given their Empress the space she needed before once again forming her honor guard. The carriage took off returning to Dunwall with the duties of an empire awaiting them

But Empress Emily Kaldwin would not face the burdens of the empire alone… no she would have Corvo to guide her.

Her Royal Protector and Father.

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**I Liked writing Corvo's and Emily's relationship.**  
**By the end she's seen so much and becomes Empress at a young age.**  
**I wanted to show the toll that must take plus a little bit of fluff.**  
**Thanks for Reading and please Review!**


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